OMH Announces Release of Health Data for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Population

OMH Announces Release of Health Data for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Population

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the results of the first large-scale federal survey designed to provide detailed health information about the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island population in the United States.  The project, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), was conducted in 2014 through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) and the CDC.

Data from the survey provide detailed information on factors such as access to and use of health services, health insurance coverage, immunizations, risk factors, and health-related behaviors about Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. The survey results can be used by policymakers, researchers, health professionals, community leaders, and others to help inform their programs and policies and to plan future interventions to help achieve health equity for this population.

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics has developed a data brief that highlights differences in the prevalence of selected health conditions between the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population and the Asian population with whom they have been historically combined. The CDC has also made the data file publicly available.

“For years, we have been limited in our knowledge of the health status of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders because of their grouping with the larger Asian population,” said Carol Jimenez, OMH Acting Director.  “This is a historic survey that for the first time provides a detailed look at the health status of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community, which is the first step in addressing the disparities that uniquely affect this community.”

The CDC partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau in order to increase representation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander households for this project. As part of this joint effort, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau collected data from approximately 3,000 households containing one or more NHPI residents, using the American Community Survey sample.  Responses were collected by the Census Bureau and securely transmitted to the National Center for Health Statistics, where any personal identifiers were removed.